Defense

N The Rams’ offense was already uninspired, but the 49ers, even without Patrick Willis for three-plus quarters, made it look unsightly. St. Louis had 157 yards, averaged 1.3 yards on 23 carries, had one drive lasting more than five plays and had nearly as many punts (eight) as first downs (10). Larry Grant (six tackles, one sack) subbed capably for Willis, and Aldon Smith (two sacks) continued his impressive debut.

Special Teams

On the bright side of those red-zone issues, David Akers is always there to make sure the 49ers don’t come away empty. Akers made all of four of his field-goal tries, setting a franchise record for field goals in a season (32), and needs 17 points to break Jerry Rice’s franchise standard for points in a season (138 in 1987). Andy Lee boomed a 61-yard punt and dumped three of his five punts inside the Rams’ 20.

Coaching

It’s safe to say the Rams weren’t surprised to see Frank Gore run up the middle 3rd-and-goal from the 1 in the second quarter (no gain). And perhaps Kendall Hunter running the Wildcat needs to be shelved after that play lost 7 yards on 3rd-and-2 at the Rams’ 9 in the third quarter. On the other hand, with the Rams geared to stop Gore, reverses to Ted Ginn Jr., Delanie Walker and Kyle Williams netted 55 yards.

OVERALL

That ragged offensive first half – 0-for-3 in the red zone, 2-for-8 on third downs, three sacks allowed – obviously won’t get it done against an opponent with some semblance of an offense. The 49ers’ offense did recover in a 17-point second half, the defense was ridiculously dominant and the 49ers bounced back nicely from their second loss of the season.